Conflicts

There is something peculiarly challenging about the academic conference which carries over in to Saturday morning. Since it's only a half day, you worry (and anticipate) that a lot of people to give it a miss. I was therefore gratified that the 9.30am session I was speaking in had a decent audience. And they even seemed to enjoy it. The final session of the morning moved  on the interesting topic of "scholars at risk", and included also some discussion of "institutions at risk", which would include the CEU. This may be the last time I visit the CEU in Budapest given the intentions of the Fidesz government.

After the conference had closed, I met up with Mr A, who was inspecting the Budapest Eye. We wandered through the city centre, taking in the Egytem Ter (University Square) area. This is where Eötvös Loránd University is to be found, and it is here where I attended quite a number of meetings and conferences in the mid to late 1990s. The area is so utterly changed that it is basically unrecognisable. Even so, on a couple of our wanders we could see that some of the glitziness is only skin deep. Wander one street away from the splendours of Andrássy út, for example, and you take a journey right back in time. Anyway, lunch (Thai!) and a drink (coffee/beer) concluded our pleasurable trip, and we were away to the airport, for a late arrival back in Helsinki.